


To Look After You

by DellaBella



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Angel Wings, Angel/Demon Relationship, Comforting Crowley (Good Omens), Conversations, Established Relationship, Friendship/Love, M/M, Soft Crowley (Good Omens), Soft Gabriel, Wing Grooming, Wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:28:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24704575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DellaBella/pseuds/DellaBella
Summary: Crowley had big plans for tonight. Well, not necessarily big, and not necessarily plans either. Tonight he was going to lounge on the sofa, watching trashy reality shows and getting drunk.Well, thatwasthe plan, anyway, until a certain archangel showed up unexpectedly.
Relationships: Crowley/Gabriel (Good Omens)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 46





	To Look After You

**Author's Note:**

> They're just in love, idk what else to say. And I needed to write something soft and fluffy, just like angel wings.

Crowley had big plans for tonight. Well, not necessarily _big_ , and not necessarily _plans_ either. Tonight he was going to lounge on the sofa, watching trashy reality shows and getting drunk. And he wouldn't be consuming fine wine like he did with Aziraphale. No, tonight it would be cheap liquor straight out of the bottle. When he was sufficiently intoxicated then he would sleep for several days until one of his angels called or showed up to scold him for his laziness. He grinned at the thought. A little drunkenness and sloth was just what he needed to recharge his demonic energy. 

Several episodes into the latest season of The Bachelor he was feeling a little buzz, and he was thoroughly enjoying the display of the most base and crude of human emotions. It was very convenient how people did most of his work for him these days. He was feeling quite pleased soaking in the sin and vice when he heard a knock at the door. 

Crowley frowned, already knowing who it was. Aziraphale had only visited once, just after the non-apocalypse. Gabriel had been here multiple times. Several times the archangel had just popped into existence unannounced in the middle of Crowley's flat, prompting the demon to have a serious talk about manners with him. Aziraphale might have tolerated his boss just showing up out of thin air, but Crowley wasn't about to stand for it. This was his personal space, after all. 

He must have been considering this for a while, because there was another knock, louder and more insistent this time. 

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" He called out, his words slurred. He stood up, long legs just a little unsteady. He was dressed only in a black tank top and a pair of black silk boxers, and he happily staggered over to open the door wearing only that. "Well, hello dear…" he purred, attempting to lean against the doorframe seductively and almost nearly pulling it off. 

Gabriel raised an eyebrow and looked him over curiously. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"Oh, no, not at all," Crowley lied, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside before shutting and locking the door behind him. Personal time could wait. Now that the handsome purple-eyed archangel was standing in his flat, Crowley no longer felt quite as excited about spending the evening alone. 

The two sat on the sofa, Crowley making a point to sit _very_ close to the archangel. They were silent for a few minutes. Gabriel stared at the television, clearly not impressed. “This is what you chose to watch in your free time?”

“Reality television is cheap and addicting, exploiting and encouraging all the worst that humanity has to offer… So yes. Absolutely.”

The archangel nodded, quiet for a moment before asking another question. “Do these women wish to mate with this man because he's from a superior bloodline?”

Crowley blinked a few times, then laughed. “You’re serious?”

“I’m guessing that’s a no. So is he rich and powerful, with land and armies? Like a king or something?"

"This isn't the Middle Ages," Crowley quipped.

"Hmmm… Well, if that isn’t it, perhaps he is just particularly adept at sexual intercourse?”

The demon nearly choked, and that was when he finally noticed the slightest hint of mirth glimmering in Gabriel’s violet eyes. “You bastard,” Crowley said affectionately. “You really had me going for a moment there.”

The corner of Gabriel’s mouth turned upward into a smug grin. “I do understand humor, you know. I’m not that out of touch.”

“Sometimes I wonder…”

“Hush,” Gabriel said softly, nudging him gently with his elbow. “Now will you turn off this drivel? I really don’t care which of these women that man decides to fornicate with.”

Crowley huffed and turned off the television with a wave of his hand. “So what did you need to see me about? Need a little attention?” The demon looked the archangel over hungrily, trailing his fingertip slowly up his arm.

Gabriel glanced down at his hand and then back up at yellow serpentine eyes. “I do appreciate your company for other reasons as well.”

“Do you?” Crowley murmured, feeling a tinge of disappointment mixed with curiosity.

“Of course I do. You’re my friend. You listen to me… without judgement.”

So that was it. It had been the foundation of their relationship. Long conversations when Gabriel came down to Earth for a jog. From what Crowley gathered, though the other archangels considered themselves to be his friends, they tended to be rather harsh and unyielding when it came to any sort of questions or uncertainty. Crowley would never look down on anyone for having doubts, he understood that all too well.

The demon reached out and took the archangel’s hand, squeezing it gently. “What’s the matter, love?”

Gabriel sighed softly, lacing their fingers together. “It’s not anything in particular, really. I just wonder sometimes why I haven’t been given a new plan. I mean, I feel like _She_ would have given me one by now. You know, after the last plan didn’t play out how we thought it would. There has to be something else.”

Crowley could tell that he was nervous, choosing his words carefully, not wanting to say anything that would be self-condemning on his part. It was difficult to know where that line was, really. Crowley had been cast out for asking questions. One too many. Unfortunately he didn’t know what the limit was until that final damning question.

“That’s reasonable,” Crowley said thoughtfully. “Been rather curious about that myself.”

“But that’s the thing, isn’t it? Angels aren’t supposed to be curious. We’re just supposed to do what we’re told.”

Crowley frowned. Conversations like this reminded him of exactly why he had to Fall. He just couldn’t imagine not being able to be curious, not being able to question things. It only seemed right that if something were unknown that he should try to find an answer. Blindly following orders was just something he could never accept.

But despite his own inquisitive nature, he had no desire to push Gabriel in a direction that would make him uncomfortable, or even scared. In fact, Crowley felt an overwhelming, and decidedly non-demonic, urge to comfort and protect the angel seated next to him. The angel who was currently holding his hand firmly, looking to him for reassurance.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Crowley said soothingly. “I’m certain you haven’t done anything wrong.”

“How can you be so sure?” Gabriel asked, sounding rather miserable.

“Because I know you. I know that you only want to do what’s right. You’re the leader of Heaven, after all, and it only makes sense that you’d want a plan. Rather hard to lead, otherwise.”

Gabriel looked like he was considering something. “But _you_ fell for asking questions.”

“Yes, but I wasn’t trying to do what was right. Or rather, I wanted to be the one to decide what was right. Rather frowned upon Upstairs, you know.”

Gabriel smiled weakly, shaking his head in bemusement. “You take it rather lightly, huh?”

“Had six thousand years to get over it,” the demon responded with a shrug. “Anyway, you know I’m right on this one, at least. You’re in the clear. And I’m certain whenever _She_ does decide to release The Great Plan Version Two, you’ll be the first one _She_ lets in on it.”

“You always do know just the right thing to say, don’t you?”

Crowley felt a surge of pride, and since that was a perfectly acceptable feeling for a demon, he decided to bask in it for a bit. “I do, don’t I?”

“Thank you, Crowley.” Gabriel leaned forward, kissing his cheek softly.

“Oh, so you do need a little attention, huh?”

“Crowley, you have a one-track mind.”

“I am a _demon_ , you know…”

“Little hard to forget, yeah?” Gabriel smirked. “But there is something you can help me with, if you wouldn’t mind.”

Crowley raised his eyebrow as Gabriel got up from the sofa and sat on the floor instead, his back facing him. His eyes grew wide a moment later when Gabriel took a deep breath before manifesting his wings in the physical realm. Despite being in need of some grooming, they were still a spectacular sight to behold.

The archangel’s wings were stunning, captivatingly beautiful. The scapular feathers, closest to his back, were a delicate shade of lilac. The covert feathers gradually transitioned to a deeper shade of lavender, leading to the primaries, which were a brilliant amethyst, glimmering like his purple eyes. 

It was nearly entrancing, and Crowley always had to take a moment to compose himself whenever Gabriel would decide to be so open with him. It took a certain amount of vulnerability for an angel to reveal his wings to a demon like this, and Crowley was always certain to show his appreciation. To prove that he deserved such a high level of trust.

Finally he reached out and touched, ever so gently, his long fingers just barely brushing over soft feathers. He could see Gabriel shiver in response. “How long’s it been?” Crowley asked softly. “Since you’ve taken care of your wings?”

“I… I don’t know. Weeks, maybe.”

Crowley tsked in disapproval. “You really ought to take some time to tend to yourself, you know. Your wings are a bit of a mess,” he chided, as he took a moment to straighten a few small feathers along the upper ridge of one wing.

“I just… it’s easy to forget about it sometimes. No one ever sees my wings anyway.”

“I’m looking at them right now,” Crowley murmured, running his fingers under the contour feathers to stroke the soft down beneath.

Gabriel was practically purring. “I suppose so.”

“I’m not a _no one_.”

“No, you’re not.” Gabriel sighed and leaned back closer to him. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.”

"I absolutely do have to," Crowley responded in a matter of fact tone. "You need someone to look after you."

Gabriel was quiet for a moment, contemplative. "We used to do this all the time," he said finally.

"We did?"

"Well, not you and I, necessarily. I mean _we_ as in, you know, all of us. Angels. Before the Fall."

"I see," Crowley said, softly brushing and smoothing feathers as he worked his way slowly down Gabriel's wings. "And you don't do that anymore Upstairs?"

"Maybe some angels do. I'm just so… busy."

Crowley was silent now, focused on the work at hand. It was clear that Gabriel had been too preoccupied recently to spend time properly grooming his wings. His weren't as bad as Aziraphale's, not close, but they were in need of some careful attention nonetheless.

Crowley tried to remember what it had been like before the Fall. His memories were hazy, at best. Vague feelings and blurry images. Had he and Gabriel spent time together like this? He wished for a moment he could remember, but quickly realized this was probably for the best. There was no going back to the way things were back then, anyway. And the way things were _now_ wasn't so bad. 

Still, as he continued working, ancient memories came back to him unbidden. Just small snippets. He could remember fingers working delicately though his wings. Or at least, what seemed like his wings. Only they were white and gleaming. And there were voices, familiar and yet unrecognizable at the same time.

_"I could stay like this for hours. Days, even…"_

_Nimble fingers that had been caressing feathers halted. "We've got work to do." The voice was gently scolding but laced with enough affection to soften the blow._

_"Work can wait…"_

_"Careful now, sloth is a vice."_

_"So fortunate I have you to look after me…" the other voice murmured in response, with a sarcasm that shouldn't have yet existed at that time. The other angel never noticed…_

“I lied to you earlier,” Crowley confessed. “You actually were interrupting something. I had big plans for tonight. I was going to indulge in some drunkenness and sloth.”

Gabriel chuckled in amusement. “Good thing I showed up then. Sloth is a vice, you know.”

“Is it?” Crowley said, feigning ignorance in the most exaggerated manner possible.

“It absolutely is. It’s fortunate that you have me to look after you.” Gabriel teased.

“Yeah,” Crowley agreed, no hint of sarcasm in his voice. He leaned forward, draping his arms over the angel’s shoulders, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of his head. The demon closed his eyes, sighing happily as he buried his face in soft hair. “Yeah, it really is…”


End file.
